RC Stevens' Marlee Schneider dives into the post during the game against Watertown during the semifinals Friday, Nov. 16, at the Denny Sanford Premier Center in Sioux Falls. Briana Sanchez / Argus Leader

An official looks over RC Stevens' Marlee Schneider during the game against Watertown during the semifinals Friday, Nov. 16, at the Denny Sanford Premier Center in Sioux Falls. Briana Sanchez / Argus Leader

RC Stevens' Carly Buehner, center, celebrates with her team during the game against Watertown during the semifinals Friday, Nov. 16, at the Denny Sanford Premier Center in Sioux Falls. Briana Sanchez / Argus Leader

RC Stevens' Kyah Watson (18) celebrates with her team during the game against Watertown during the semifinals Friday, Nov. 16, at the Denny Sanford Premier Center in Sioux Falls. Briana Sanchez / Argus Leader

Jaden Wages of Chester Area spikes the ball past the defense by Laurie Rogers (13) and Keeley Fischbach of Warner during the Class B semifinals on Friday in Sioux Falls. Michael G. Brown for the Argus Leader

Ashley Fischbach of Warner taps the ball over the net between Ella Pry (9) and Jennilee Hoyer of Chester Area during the Class B semifinals on Friday in Sioux Falls. Michael G. Brown for the Argus Leader

Very little separated either side in Friday night’s Class B state semifinal between Chester and Warner, but in the end, Laurie Rogers proved to be that separation.

The senior middle hitter finished with a match-high 26 kills and eight blocks, leading the second-seeded Monarchs to a 25-20, 23-25, 25-21, 25-23 win over the third-seeded Flyers at the Denny Samford Premier Center.

With the victory, Warner advances to take on top-seeded Northwestern at 4 p.m. Saturday in the Class B championship match.

“Our kids are used to some of these situations. We’ve had a tough schedule, and I was really proud of how they were able to keep their heads,” Monarchs coach Kari Jung said. “We had a couple tough rotations, but we were able to come through when we needed to.”

The Monarchs (35-2) faced a 13-9 deficit in the first set when Hailey Ewoldt provided a kill for Chester (26-6), but Warner responded with a 12-2 swing that ended when Rogers and Ashley Fischbach combined for a kill to give their side a 21-15 advantage.

Warner’s lead never dipped below four points for the remainder of the set.

“We definitely needed the momentum going into the second set to get going right away and not fall behind like we did in the first set,” Rogers said. “It definitely helped us in the match.”

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Chester Area head coach, Jean Benson talks with her team during a timeout in their match with Warner during the Class B semifinals on Friday in Sioux Falls.(Photo: Michael G. Brown for the Argus Leader)

In the second set, the Flyers trailed 22-16 before going on a 9-1 run that evened the match 1-1 on an attacking error.

It was the exact kind of response Chester coach Jean Benson had hoped to see from her team.

“They put themselves in a position to battle back and push that into a fifth set,” Benson said, “and unfortunately we didn’t get a chance to play that fifth set.”

Things played out in similar fashion during the third set, but this time, the Monarchs were on the winning end.

After a kill by Chester’s Makenna Larson opened up a 19-16 lead for the Flyers, Warner responded with a 9-2 swing to take the set and move ahead 2-1 in the match.

“We needed some big hits, and we got some,” Jung said. “Laurie Rogers came in and played just a fantastic game in the front row for us. Laura Ochsner in the back row was great, and our passing was pretty good. I’m just happy with the outcome.”

The Monarchs built a 15-5 lead in the fourth and final set, but Chester answered with six consecutive points to pull within four at 15-11.

Warner led by as many as seven points before a kill by Fischbach brought up match point at 24-20. The Flyers answered with three straight points to close the gap to one point, but Sydney Leidholt’s kill proved to be the match-winning point for the Monarchs.

Jadon Wages had 19 kills to go along with 19 digs for the Flyers, while teammate Hanna Reiff contributed a match-high 49 digs. Hailey Ewoldt led the way for Chester with 42 assists.

The Flyers move on to face Faith in the third-place match at 12:30 p.m. Saturday.

“We know this tournament’s about playing three games,” Benson said. “I know the girls want to take their time to be upset about this one, but we need to let it go. One play can’t change a tournament for you. ... We’ll go and regather ourselves and get ready to play Faith tomorrow.”

Ashley Fischbach of Warner taps the ball over the net between Ella Pry (9) and Jennilee Hoyer of Chester Area during the Class B semifinals on Friday in Sioux Falls.(Photo: Michael G. Brown for the Argus Leader)

Moving forward, the Monarchs know what’s ahead of them in Saturday’s match against Northwestern, a team to which they dropped a five-set thriller early in the season on Sept. 6.

“We need a good night of sleep,” Jung said. “It’s one we’ve been hoping we can get because we lost to them in five earlier in the year, so we hope we can give them a good match.”